Lebanon Essay

Cheap Custom Writing Service

Lebanon  has  a liberal  economy  with  free  transfer of capital and goods. It is a small and service-based economy—services account for approximately 71 percent  of its gross domestic  product  (GDP), which was estimated at $24.6 billion in 2007. The main economic  sectors  are financial services, tourism,  commerce, manufacturing,  and agriculture. In particular, agriculture is the main source of employment in rural areas, but it is relatively underdeveloped  with inefficient production techniques.  As a result, the sector represents  only a small portion  of the  GDP. Main agricultural products include vegetables, potatoes, tobacco, and fruits.

The majority of Lebanese industrial firms are small family-owned entities, concentrated in the capital city of Beirut. Food and beverages are the main industrial subsector, with the highest workforce and number of firms. Other industrial sectors are furniture,  textiles, clothing,  leather,  wood products,  and  metal  goods.

Although the industrial sector has significantly recovered since the civil war (1975–90) and regained some of its regional competitiveness,  it was badly hit during summer  2006, when a conflict with Israeli forces resulted in the destruction of many factories including dairy, steel, and glass facilities.

As a result of civil war, Lebanon suffered serious physical and  infrastructural damage.  This led to  a boost in the construction sector in the postwar era. One of the major projects was the redevelopment  of downtown  Beirut. The massive reconstruction program was funded by a substantial amount of external and internal funds, which led to the accumulation  of a huge debt. This debt still represents  a major drain on public resources. In an effort to reduce the burden of public debt, successive governments  sought  support from existing creditors and the country’s foreign allies. Nevertheless,  despite  these  efforts  from  the Lebanese government, public debt represents  a long-term problem.

Lebanon was regarded as the regional financial hub during the 1960s and early 1970s due to its developed banking sector  and particularly  its banking secrecy law. However, the sector suffered a slowdown during the civil war, with capital moving outside the country. The sector recovered in the postwar period, with 131 commercial banks operating in the country under license  from  the  central  bank  (Banque  du  Liban). These banks are supervised and regulated by the Banking Control Commission. Commercial banks are the main creditors to the Lebanese government, buying high-yield treasury  bills and Eurobonds  to fund the  government  reconstruction plan,  which  makes them  highly exposed to public debt. Lebanese commercial banks are expanding regionally in the Middle East and north Africa.

Many investment houses and brokerages were established during the 1990s, offering investment opportunities to  wealthy  individuals,  but  they  had limited  success. The Beirut Stock Exchange, which closed in 1975 due to the outbreak  of the civil war, reopened  in  1995, and  trading  started  in  January 1996. The liquidity is low, and six banks are among the only 11 listed companies.  Despite the efforts to regain Beirut’s role as a financial center in the region, the process has had limited success due to the growth of many financial centers in the region such as Bahrain and Dubai.

The mild climate of Lebanon and its location  on the  Mediterranean coast  make  Lebanon  a popular tourist  destination,  particularly  among  Arabs  from the Gulf region. Tourism, which played a vital role in the Lebanese economy before the civil war, is one of the fastest-growing sectors.

Due to limited agricultural and manufacturing machinery,  and lack of mineral  resources,  Lebanon depends  on imported  products  for economic activities. Main imports include mineral products, machinery, vehicles, chemicals,  and  oil. According  to  the Ministry of Economy and Trade, imports  were estimated  at $11.815 billion in 2007. At the same time, Lebanon’s main exports are fresh and processed food, textiles, finished jewelry, paper, and paper products. Exports were $2.816 billion in 2007.

With  a reputation for little  intervention in economic activities, the Lebanese government always encourages private investment initiatives (local or foreign). In its effort to boost investment in Lebanon, the government created the Investment Development Authority  in Lebanon (IDAL) under  the Investment Development Law 360. IDAL is entrusted to identify investment  opportunities in Lebanon, to assist local and  foreign  investors  in  their  investment  projects, and to provide them with a wide range of investment incentives. Under the Lebanese Commercial Law, companies  can be formed  either  as partnerships or limited liability entities; all Lebanese companies and branches of foreign firms must be registered with the Registry of Commerce. In this respect, Lebanon offers a wide range of investment  opportunities across all sectors of the economy, coupled with a moderate corporate  tax rate and a multilingual, skilled, and well-educated labor force.

Bibliography:     

  1. Byblos Bank, “Lebanon This Week” (v.64, 2008);
  2. Julian Di Giovanni and E. H. Gardner, A Simple Stochastic Approach to Debt Sustainability  Applied to Lebanon (International Monetary Fund, 2008);
  3. Dima Jamali and Ramez Mirshak,  “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and  Practice  in a Developing Country  Context,” Journal of Business Ethics (v.72/3, 2007);
  4. Axel Schimmelpfennig and E. H. Gardner,  Lebanon: Weathering the Perfect Storms  (International Monetary  Fund,  Middle  East and Central Asia Department, 2008);
  5. Philippe W. Zgheib, “Managerial Ethics: An Empirical Study of Business Students  in  the  American  University  of Beirut,” Journal of Business Ethics (v.61/1, 2005).

This example Lebanon Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.

See also:

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER


Always on-time

Plagiarism-Free

100% Confidentiality

Special offer!

GET 10% OFF WITH 24START DISCOUNT CODE